Category: News

This year’s T3 (Technology Tools for Today) conference attracted an impressive number of attendees. With more than 600 in attendance, the conference has doubled in size the past several years.

The conference also seems to be THE venue for fin-tech firms to announce new ventures, software versions, and integrations. There is no better conference for advisors keen on keeping up with cutting edge technology in the financial services sector.

AssetBook exhibitors Jimmy Wilkes and Rob Major

Takeaways:

We noticed a couple of trends creating buzz at the show… most notably robo technology for advisors and truly seamless integration of advisor technology.

On the robo front, we noticed that in addition to established portals like Betterment and Oranj, systems new to the space like Advisor Engine not only showed up but sponsored the conference at the Platinum level. Riskalyze announced its own new robo-esque platform as well.

It appears that advisors are continuing to embrace the technology that the robos are bringing to the table. These platforms eliminate the need for human intervention to assist in client onboarding, risk profiling, model design and implementation.

Seamless integration of advisor facing apps may seem like a broken record at this point. Some of you may remember the decade-old Silver Bullet campaign. Until now, it really hasn’t evolved all that much as most integrations between advisor apps still use old-school “push-pull” techniques or old-school web services.

Modern APIs are the key to achieving rich and meaningful integration of your CRM, PMS, Planning and Trading systems. It also seems like the custodians may play a role in connecting the APIs in a standard way.

Presentations:

As always, we enjoyed the speakers, especially Bob Veres.

Bob was talking about “The One Solution”, which refers to his theory that the financial planning industry is basically “stalled” in terms of advisors attracting new clients. In summary, Bob presented a viable solution to the problem that included employing younger succession advisors, improving your on-line presence including digital reporting, leveraging communication technology (like Skype and Facetime), and building niche communities of clients to serve.

The presentation was enlightening and Bob goes into detail on his theory, as well as many other revelations in his new book named The New Profession. In our opinion, the book is excellent and is a must-read for financial professionals.

Finally, Rob Major spoke on the topic of identity fraud in a presentation named “The $100,000 Lesson Learned.” He shared a true story about how a client of a well-established RIA firm was victimized by a fraudster, and how and why the RIA was responsible for paying the money back.

Again, we can’t say enough good things about the T3 conference and hope to see you next year in Ft. Lauderdale, FL for the 2018 conference. It will be held February 6-9, 2018 at the Marriott Harbor Beach Resort and Conference Center.

This year’s TD National LINC 2017 conference was our best ever! This conference gets better every year, so if you missed it consider going next year.

Highlights from the conference:

A major focus of the conference was the roll out of Veo One, TD’s new integrated advisor desktop. This could be the best platform for integration we’ve seen so far. We’ll join the new platform as an integration partner in the near future.

We were also impressed with the advancements to iRebal. Advisors using standard models could benefit heavily from the new automation features that are built into the trading system.

Thanks to everyone that came by to see us in Veo Village. David Robertson and Frank Taylor enjoyed speaking to each of you.

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The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) begins today in Washington DC. Come by our booth (65) to say Hi to Rob and Jimmy, pick up a selfie stick, and enter to win a GoPro.See you there!

Bob Veres’ Insider’s Forum conference just keeps getting better year after year. We really enjoyed visiting with our clients and catching up with many old friends last week. The venue, which was the historic Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, was amazing.

There was a large emphasis on robo-advisors and how they are beginning to play a complementary role in professional financial advisory firms.

There was also much discussion about how the new Dept. of Labor fiduciary rule is impacting advisors and how the robos can participate in digital management IRA accounts that now must be managed.

Congratulations to Skip Schweiss, Managing Director of Retirement Plan Services at TD Ameritrade, for winning this year’s Insiders Forum leadership award. According to Bob Veres, Skip played a major role in Washington lobbying for the new DOL ruling. Rob Major and Skip go back 17 years and all of us here at AssetBook want to congratulate him for his valiant efforts.

Skip Schweiss

We got word that next year’s Insiders Forum will be held in Nashville, TN. We will definitely be there and hope to see you there too!

Conference season is upon us and AssetBook officially kicks off our fall campaign “Be Your Self” with AssetBook at the Bob Veres Insider’s Forum 2016 conference next week in San Diego.

AssetBook’s Founder Rob Major and VP of Business Development David Robertson will be representing AssetBook at the conference at the beautiful Hotel Del Coronado.

AssetBook integrates with best of breed integration partners so that advisors can implement the perfect technology solutions for their firm.

#BeYourSelfie

Just like a selfie every firm is unique and we want you to #BeYourSelfie. That’s why at the 2016 Insider’s Forum we are hosting a selfie scavenger hunt for a chance to:

If you are at the conference be sure to stop by our booth, where we will be giving away selfie sticks. While you are there you can learn about how our portfolio management system can integrate with your firm’s technology solutions.